Just when it looked like Rafael Nadal was on the brink of retirement, the legendary Spaniard has returned to courtside action in 2022 and won every tournament he’s participated in.
35-year-old Nadal was absent from the 2021 tennis schedule with the possibility of retirement due to a foot injury but has returned in elite style for 2022 and successfully won the three tournaments he’s participated in thus far.
The Spanish native claimed his 21st major title during the opening ATP tournament of 2022, the Australian Open, following a victorious win in Melbourne at a warm-up competition.
“At the start of the year, this was unimaginable,” Nadal commented. “A month and a half ago, nobody would have believed it.”
Nadal overcame the talents of Cameron Norrie to lift the Mexican Open trophy this past weekend, and this win extended his winning start in 2022 to 15 consecutive matches – a notable career-best.
A tightly fought opening set eventually favored Nadal after he transformed the only break point of the set in the 5th game and finished with little adversity from Norrie.
Norrie, 26, is a fast-rising British star who’s currently the No.12 ranked in the world, and he was riding an 8-match win streak of his own before suffering defeat to Nadal. Despite winning the Delray Beach Open, Norrie struggled to break Nadal’s serve outside of 1 set and eventually suffered four back-to-back game losses.
“Rafa doesn’t give you any free points, and if you give him one or two, he takes advantage of them,” Norrie commented. “It is impressive to see how he still does it.”
Having won the Mexican Open at the tender age of 18, it wasn’t the Spaniard’s first rodeo in Mexico, and he now boasts four successful campaigns in Acapulco. He is currently the tournament’s youngest and oldest champion in history, with successes in 2005, 2013, 2020, and 2022.
Sports bettors and fans have been stunned by Nadal’s return, and the sportsbooks have regularly discredited his chance of victory by under-pricing his tournament odds. The complete legalization of online sports betting in New York has seen a rise in ATP tournament wagers, but very few have supported Nadal in his return.
With his current form and the history-breaking moments he can achieve this season, it would be foolish to underestimate his likelihood of claiming another title in 2022. Therefore, a Nadal future wager at the best sportsbooks is entirely plausible, and bookmakers will undoubtedly think twice about offering such wide odds on the Spanish star next time around.
When Nadal claimed the Australian Open championship at the beginning of the year, he cleared Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer’s current records with twenty-one grand slam titles. Still, he’s slightly behind Jimmy Connors (109), Federer (103), and Ivan Lendl (94) for total ATP title wins.
Nadal has often reminded the tennis world he isn’t motivated by records, but with his standing records, he’s the most outstanding male tennis player in the sport’s history. Just three more ATP title successes for Nadal, and he’ll tie Lendl with 94 titles.
Although some of the sport’s most notable names could have their all-time ATP tournament records broken, Nadal remains as humble as ever and is complacent with having the ability to still compete at the highest level.
“At the end of the day, I’ve always said that this kind of record needs to be measured once your career is over,” Nadal told the media.
“Today, the most important thing is that I have won a prestigious tournament.”
When you consider he’s playing into his mid-thirties and his current form is a return from a foot injury, it makes his run all the more impressive.
Even Nadal surprised himself, telling reporters he couldn’t imagine winning the Australian Open and another ATP title in his return.
“It was complicated, and I ended up taking the victory. Looking back, a few weeks ago, this would have looked impossible. It’s amazing how things can change in such a short span, from not being able to practice and now to be where I am today,” he added.
To further elaborate on how dangerous Nadal’s skill set is, he sailed through the world’s No.1 ranked Daniil Medvedev in the semi-final on his way to capturing the Mexican Open last weekend.